Albus Potter, Classmates and Elves

Ch 2 A Little Vacation

Thank you, Deb, for major suggestions. Some of the dialogue is hers, and the story is much improved by her contributions and criticisms.

The next chapter starts a new year at Hogwarts for Albus and his friends, but before that, we have a little vacation time.

*

It was late July. Before meeting the four students and taking them, Albus, Rose, Scorpius and Cleopatra, back to England, Harry and Ginny were meeting with Steven and Valeri Bushman, the heads of the Prophecy Department in Switzerland. This department kept track of prophesies made worldwide and verified them. Also there were the direct heir of the Prophetesses of Delphi, Nausicaa Scheria, and her granddaughter Sibylla Papadopoulos, her heir.

Sibylla announced, "As some of you know, there was a prophesy that I would be with child when the new queen ... Well, here we have a problem. We are reasonably sure that one of your descendants, Harry, Ginny, will be the next king or ruler of the Magi, since you are the Regents, and we assume it will be Albus, but we are not sure. The assumption is that Cleopatra will be his spouse, consort, and the new queen, but we are not sure of that either."

Sibylla continued, "I assumed that I would have another child when the queen ascended the throne. I didn't think it meant that I would not become pregnant until the new queen appeared. If Cleopatra is going to be the new queen, maybe that is what it meant. Sometimes prophecies are hard to interpret. Cleo did something the first day she arrived, examined me with that strange wand of hers, and said a prayer. I think, after twenty years of trying, we are finally expecting a baby. I remember Cleo telling us to have fun, and somehow I felt that it was more important to enjoy what we were doing than to worry. In some ways Cleo has no idea how powerful she is."

Nausicaa emphasized, "Her kind have been dangerously powerful, and all too often out of control. Let us keep watching and praying. I hope Albus can continue to control and channel her. Ginny, we think that your friendship with Cleo is also very important."

Ginny admitted, "In some ways I feel that instead of having one new child, baby Minerva, that I have three, or maybe two and a half. Cleo has become part of our family just like Harry became part of our family long before he and I were married. I don't know about Scorpius, but he seems to be part of this as well."

*

Scorpius and Cleopatra took the Floo to Malfoy Manor about noon, coming through the Floo in the front hall. They were met by Narcissa and Draco. The Floo was only open when the Malfoy family was expecting someone, so Scorpius and Cleopatra were expected.

Draco was furious, yelling, "FORMERLY PROMINENT! We are still a rich, pureblooded family. False humility has no place in the Malfoy vocabulary."

"You saw how prominent most of the parents and grandparents were," Scorpius argued. "They were not very accepting of Cleo or me, and there was resentment when I became the secretary for the group, and when Mrs. Hudson and I published articles about our meeting. Our family is no longer prominent enough to influence that group, but by helping to control what is written or recorded about the group, I have a position of more influence that I would have otherwise. Please let me continue to do what I am doing. I promise you, father, that it will be better for the Malfoy family if I am an accepted member of that group."

"What is Cleo?" Draco groused, just as Astoria walked into the front hall.

"Albus Potter's girlfriend," Cleo whispered.

Draco turned on Cleo, glowering at her. "YOU ARE NOT TO BE ALBUS'S GIRLFRIEND!"

"She's always been a fat slob," Astoria sneered. "I don't know why I put up with this."